May’s Part Of The Month is all about something new for us here at Purple… Formlabs just joined the lineup. This one comes from Saxon Swart, Formlabs Sales Engineer, who picked a Nylon 12 full build that shows off what the Fuse 1+ 30W can do.
What Is It?
This part is an all-in-one showcase piece. Inside the build you’ve got enclosures, frames, propellers, and even a cage holding smaller parts. The detail, surface finish, and strength are obvious here. You’re getting a full snapshot of what this printer can produce in a single build.
What Was It Printed On?
This part was printed on the Fuse 1+ 30W, Formlabs’ SLS printer that has a 6.5 x 6.5 x 11.8 in build volume. What’s impressive about this part? It takes up the full build platform of the printer.
It’s one of those things where you can talk about the specs all day, but seeing a build volume fully utilized like this really puts it into perspective. As Saxon put it, sometimes you hear the numbers, but it doesn’t fully register until you see it in person.
About Nylon 12
Nylon 12 is the go-to material for SLS printing. It’s the ideal material for creating durable parts with minimal water absorption.
Top applications for Nylon 12 include:
– High Performance Prototyping
– Small Batch Manufacturing
– Permanent Jigs, Fixtures, and Tooling
– Biocompatible, Sterilizable Parts
The Fuse 1+ 30W gives you access to a range of materials (seven total) for functional, production-ready parts. Saxon mentioned how, “You can run a range of materials, and do it well.” Builds like this are the perfect example of that. It’s one thing to talk about specs, it’s another to hold something like this and see what’s possible.
The Printing Process
The Fuse 1+ 30W uses Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology to produce strong, functional nylon parts. During the process, a thin layer of powder is spread across the build chamber while a 30W laser selectively fuses the material together based on the part design. The printer repeats this process layer by layer until the build is complete.
Because the surrounding powder supports the parts during printing, no support structures are required. Once printing is finished, the build cools before the parts are removed and cleaned in the Fuse Sift system. This workflow allows for efficient production of durable, complex parts with high nesting density and minimal material waste.
What Does Post-Processing Look Like?
Once the build is done and fully cooled (which is key for keeping everything dimensionally accurate), parts move over to the Fuse Sift where unsintered powder gets removed and recycled. From there, parts go into the Fuse Blast for media blasting, which cleans off any remaining powder and leaves you with that smooth surface finish.
If you want to learn more about the Fuse 1+ 30W, or the rest of the Formlabs lineup, contact our team today.
Meet Saxon Swart
Meet Saxon Swart, Formlabs Sales Engineer. Saxon brings customer’s designs to life by finding the right additive solution for their requirements. His favorite part about working at Purple is being able to find customers a unique solution to their projects by using additive manufacturing.
Outside of the office, Saxon enjoys playing with his cat and going out to eat with friends. If you haven’t met Saxon yet, stop by our office and say hi or connect with him on LinkedIn!
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